Everybody likes to use the word ‘disruption,’ but we’re not Uber replacing the driving,” says Maureen Waters at Ten-X. “We’re not replacinganyone in the process; we’re actually providing a toolthat makes the process more efficient.”Specifically, Ten-X is in the vanguard of reshaping thecommercial real estate dealmaking process, facilitating itstransition to a digital environment driven by mobile anddesktop transactions. “Business to business has movedonline. We’re at the forefront of doing that for CRE,” saysSteve Jacobs, general manager of Ten-X Commercial.

It’s an environment that, as Waters makes clear,
doesn’t eliminate the need for brokers. In fact, she
notes that the seven major CRE services firms all have
made extensive use of the online marketplace, especially over the past year.

That’s one reason for the big numbers the firm,which launched in 2007 as Auction.com and focusedinitially on dispositions of distressed assets, has gener-ated. As of early October, it had sold a total of 300,000-plus residential and commercial properties totalingover $50 billion, and that volume has increased dra-matically in recent years. Due in part to the “incrediblegrowth opportunity” suggested by these sales figures,private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners recentlyclosed on a recapitalization of Ten-X, taking a majorityinterest in the firm.

What Jacobs calls the “180-day world” of traditional
CRE transactions has functioned for many years. “It’s
not that it doesn’t work anymore,” says Waters, who
serves as chief marketing officer for Ten-X. “But from
beginning to end, we’re executing that process two
times faster than the traditional method.” The customary 180-day timeframe for bringing a property to market
and—it’s to be hoped—closing on the sale is cut down
to 90 days via Ten-X.